Eye on Emmy: How The Following Led Kevin Bacon to a Killer TV Debut, as a Flawed Hero

He has traveled to the moon, survived Alcatraz, put a few good men on trial and, yes, once almost got arrested for dancing. But in the course of more than 35 years of acting, one of the few things Kevin Bacon never explored was a series regular TV role – until Fox’s The Following invited him to hunt down a clever killer. Now, his turn as troubled FBI consultant Ryan Hardy could cop him his first Emmy nomination since the HBO miniseries Taking Chance.

TVLINE | What exactly was it that led you to your first series regular TV role?
You have to keep in mind that it was a different world when I started out, there was real dividing line between being a television actor and being a film actor. And I loved the stage, too. But when [wife] Kyra [Sedgwick] got offered The Closer, it started to open up a new world to me, second hand. I saw the satisfaction that she was getting, peeling back layers week after week. Simultaneously I was catching up on a lot of TV — The Sopranos, The Wire, Dexter…. The second I made the call, “OK, I’m interested in looking at television,” I was reading all of this great stuff. I simultaneously started developing [projects at Showtime and HBO], and after a few years of that, The Following came along.

TVLINE | Did the fact that The Following uses flashbacks appeal to you, as a way to flesh out Ryan Hardy?
Certainly. You meet the guy and he’s obviously a mess. He’s drinking too much, he seems angry and cut off from people, and you’re not sure what got him to this place. One way to explore that mystery is I sit down and tell the story of my life, but I don’t believe that Ryan Hardy would do that. If you don’t have a character that’s willing to open up, flashbacks can be incredible useful.

TVLINE | Having inhabited a variety of roles over your career, what’s the challenge in playing a hero versus the colorful bad guy?
I’ll speak just to this character: It has to be small. It has to have subtlety. It has to be a lot about what’s not said and what’s not shown, and you have to trust that people will come to him without him saying, “Please love me.” But if I’m playing someone who is more of a villain, I’m going to try and find what the humanity is — maybe it’s a sense of humor, a charm or a swagger, or a sexuality, so it’s not just, “He’s so bad.” Conversely with a heroic character, I want us to find out, “What’s damaged about him? How does he f–k up?” With The Following, we talked a lot about how I don’t want him to be infallible — “Here he goes again, kicking ass and taking no names.”

TVLINE | But do you wrestle with that, when the narrative demands that the FBI bungle something, again?
I don’t, because I don’t see Ryan as really part of the FBI. He was an agent, but he left under questionable circumstances, because he goes by his own rules and makes mistakes. It’s the moments where he breaks away and takes risks that I think are very interesting and true to who he is. You have to have a character that screws up but obviously, ultimately has some wins.

TVLINE | He can’t be Jack Bauer.
Right. Early on, Fox talked to me about this in comparison to 24, but they did say there’d be a lot of differences between the characters.

TVLINE | Would you have considered playing the villain here?
The movies for whatever reasons have offered me the opportunities to play villains — I had X-Men: First Class in the can and R.I.P.D. was about to be shot when I read The Following — but I thought that if I go onto television I should do some version of heroic. But this guy is definitely flawed, and [series creator] Kevin [Williamson] and I spoke a lot about keeping that piece of it alive.

TVLINE | They kind of dialed back Ryan’s nipping at the vodka….
It’s interesting that you say that. I added it a couple of times, and for whatever reasons they’ve opted to not show it. There probably are alcoholics who would dispute this as a possibility, but it feels to me like he’s a guy who is a “self-medicator,” and it goes in sort of waves.

TVLINE | Talk about preparing for a scene with James Purefoy versus Natalie Zea.
I don’t think my preparation changes much. The thing about both of them is that they are incredibly smart, generous actors who come in ready to go, with their sleeves rolled up and just no bulls–t. I don’t know if it’s a function of Kevin Williamson or what, but I can’t think of a person on this cast that I felt anything other than excited to be working with, and everyone felt thrilled to be on the show — even the people that come in just for an episode and then they die! One of the tragedies of our situation is the fact that people come and go with a lot of frequency.

TVLINE | If Claire winds up dying, how might that affect Ryan in Season 2?
My discussions with Kevin have been in very broad strokes… but what I really respond to, that he’s brought up to me, is the idea that when you next see Ryan, he’s in a very different place in his life. There’s the idea that we may jump ahead in time, so maybe we’ll have the opportunity to find a kind of “more together” guy.

TVLINE | What would it mean to win an Emmy — and with such complicated, dark material — in your first foray into series regular television?
I have already gotten so much pleasure from playing this part and interacting with the people that have enjoyed the show. But even a nomination would be the icing on the cake, the lox on the bagel, the olive in the martini.

This story first appeared in the pages of TVLine’s print sibling Awards|Line. The specialty Awards|Line editions canvass various facets of the Emmy and motion pictures awards season including deep coverage, analysis and interviews with the leading contenders and industry players.

I’m sorry, no offense, but as much as i like Kevin Bacon, NO ONE deserves any award nomination recognition for this show. There is nothing about the show, the writing or the acting that would qualify as being awards worthy especially an Emmy.

AGREE 100%. I think he’s a good actor, but this role required nothing of him except to act cranky. I just don’t think it’s that hard to act that kind of a part. And there were SO many other incredible performances.

agree. first few episodes were great than it gradually started falling apart bit by bit. by the end it was laughable. although the acting between kevin and james weren’t the issue it was mainly the writing.

Amen! All this Emmy talk is insane. Sure I watch and enjoy the show, but it’s not exactly breaking any barriers or anything. And with all the amazing actors on TV these days, I find it almost insulting that The Following could be nominated for anything. All of the actors are solid, but what about all the actors out there that single handedly carry their shows? Of course I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a nomination as it’s pretty obvious Hollywood is incredibly political.

Totally agreed. There’s nothing remotely clever about this show, nor does it challenge anyone to show off his/her acting chops. The only reason I endured the whole season is because I’m a huge fan of Kevin Bacon.

Thanks for your sane comment K. This show is an insult to anyone with a moderate IQ. The most disappointing show I have seen, love Kevin Bacon, but here he and everyone around him are terrible.Bad scripts, insipt absurd plots and no likable characters.It just shows the mediocre state of the broadcast networks, that this dumb show was renewed.

The only likable characters on The Following were Jacob and Paul, and they were both killed off. Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy were not the reasons I was tuning in, and the writing was incredibly infuriating. The FBI agents were all idiots and the cult group had every single advantage handed to them; it felt completely unrealistic.

I agree with ;Bass Drum’… James Purefoy as Joe Carroll was brilliant and yes, definitely made this show what it is….the number 1 TV Drama! He definitely deserves a nomination for best Supporting Actor & his superb performance. Most people may know him from his portrayal as Marc Antony in the HBO Rome series. He is one outstanding actor!

I think this show, Kevin Bacon and many of the actors deserve to at least be nominated, and win. This show was excellent and I can’t wait for season 2. I don’t know what to expect but I do know in Kevin Williamson I trust